Business advice often lacking in law school

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Three years removed from law school, attorney Stephen A. Lasky said one thing he would have liked to leave Marquette with was a better understanding of how to practice what professors preached in the classroom.

Lasky, like others before and after him, suggested that law school can be long on theory and short on practical experience.

“There are some classes that deal with how to be a lawyer,” he said. “But in my case, I practice in the area of estate planning and I managed to get through my entire career in law school never drafting a sample will.”

When he was hired by Moertl, Wilkins & Campbell SC in 2008, Lasky had experience as a law clerk and relied on his knowledge of case law and Wisconsin statutes, but admitted there was a huge learning curve.

But beyond the practical legal skills needed to succeed as a lawyer, many practitioners are also challenged to develop a keen business sense to grow their practice.

In a time when clients and law firms are demanding more efficiency, a firm grasp of the economics of law — including billing, debt collection and even paying rent — are often essential.

But the question is, how do attorneys go about developing those skills?

“There really isn’t a lot out there to teach folks,” said Madison attorney Stephen P. Hurley.

As a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin Law School, he said the business of law is not a topic that is thoroughly taught in the classroom.

UW used to offer a course on starting and sustaining a law practice and professor Ralph M. Cagle is working to get the class back on the curriculum.

He and Hurley are also part of a task force which is looking at ways to improve the professional skills instruction offerings at the law school, which tangentially includes the business of law.

“I think that side of the practice is something we need to work on,” Cagle said. “It’s eminently teachable.”

But when Foley & Lardner attorney Michael A. Gehl started 35 years ago, the economic side of law was a relatively foreign concept, especially for new attorneys.

“When I came up through the ranks nobody breathed a word about that before being partner,” he said. “Frankly, we never thought about how much we charged for time and whether it was being collected or not.”

Gehl, who does commercial business work, said as an associate, he would take assignments from a partner, do a really good job, and gradually move up the chain.

For the most part, the same system is used today, but the firm is more proactive in tutoring associates on the business side and economic development before becoming partner, he said.

“We’re more sensitive because the practice of law has become more about business management compared to when I started,” Gehl said.

Hurley suggested that short-term, it is not necessarily in the best interests of larger firms to intensively train their associates on the business of law for fear that they will absorb the knowledge and depart.

Practice management skills may not be a priority within a large-firm setting, especially for a busy associate that is hired to work for a partner, said Hurley of Hurley, Burish & Stanton SC.

“If someone develops those business skills, you may lose them as a workhorse and gain them as competition,” he said. “So, short-term, there is disincentive to train them in the business of law, but long-term, you really have to.”

For solo and small-firm practitioners, there is a greater urgency to develop business skills, said Hurley, and that often comes through trial and error.

While the State Bar of Wisconsin offers some practice management resources, only a limited number of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) that touch on the business side of law are credit-worthy.

Cagle said law schools have some responsibility to arm graduates with the knowledge of what to expect from a business standpoint.

“There’s a sense that over time all lawyers kind of learn that stuff, but I’m not sure that’s true,” he said.

Litigator Maria L. Kreiter, a 2004 Marquette Law School graduate, said it is also up to the individual attorney to take the initiative and learn about the business side of law.

As part of Godfrey & Kahn’s mentoring program, Kreiter is paired with a senior lawyer at the firm to learn not only practical elements of law, but also the economics.

“If I have a concern about billing, is it over the top or not, I’m not going to get an answer by sitting in my office,” she said. “If I have a question about the business side of law, I’ll ask my mentor.”

Kreiter said even for attorneys on their own, or in a small firm, the tools to educate themselves are available. In six years of law practice, she has found experienced attorneys to be a valuable and accommodating resource for sharing information.

“If you are a solo and starting your own firm, guess what, you are not the only one in Milwaukee that has done that,” she said. “Find another solo practitioner who has been successful and call them up and ask to meet for lunch.”

Ultimately, Lasky said there isn’t a singular method for getting a handle on the economic elements involved with maintaining a successful practice.

He utilized his time clerking for a local firm and a judge to build a baseline of business knowledge, but also suggested that some attorneys might even consider an undergraduate or graduate course at some point.

“I don’t know that there is a blanket answer to the question,” he said of where to learn about the business of law. “Some firms are likely to point you in the right direction, but some can take a sink or swim approach.”

Jack Zemlicka can be reached at [email protected].